Quiz on capital cities

Capitalist enquiries

1 Which animal do the cities of Berlin, Bern and Madrid have on their coat of arms?

2 Which capital city’s complete name literally means ‘The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (unlike Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn?’

3 The 14th-century capital of the Serbian Empire is now the capital of another country. Name the city and the other country.

4 Which African capital city was once one of the largest ports for the Barbary pirates and has a medina listed as a World Heritage Site?

5 Frankfort is the unlikely capital of an American state with two much better-known cities. One of the cities is known for a world famous horse race, while the other features a college basketball stadium which is the largest in the world. Which state are we talking about?

6 In which country are all the highest courts based in the city of Brno, while the constitutional capital is another city?

7 The Ming dynasty finally decided to relocate the Chinese capital to Beijing to effectively control the borders from Mongols and Manchus. In which ancient city did the Chinese Empire have its capital before Beijing?

8 La Paz is the highest capital in the world, located at an altitude of almost 12,000feet, making it a nightmare for football teams from other countries. Which is the Asian capital at the highest altitude, after La Paz and Quito in the global rankings?

9 Leading on from the last question, which is the lowest national capital, located 28m below sea level and having a Persian-origin name that literally means ‘Wind Pounded city’. It is infamous for its harsh winds and snow squalls.

10 In British India, every Presidency had a ‘summer capital’ where the government would move in the summer season. Shimla, Ootacamund and Mahabaleshwar have all served as British summer capitals. Which is the only Indian state to still have a summer capital?

Answers

1. The Bear

2. Bangkok

3. Skopje, currently the capital of the Republic of Macedonia

4. Rabat, the capital of Morocco

5. Kentucky, Frankfort was chosen as a compromise after the leaders could not choose between Louisville and Lexington

6. Czech Republic, Prague is the designated capital

7. Nanjing, whose name literally means ‘southern capital’ in Chinese

8. Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, located at an altitude of 8680 ft

9. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan

10. Jammu and Kashmir; Srinagar is its official summer capital

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